Home Is Where They Hope To Be Soon

Air Support Group Sees An End To War

April 20, 2003|By TRACY GORDON FOX; Courant Staff Writer

Bryan Turner misses lush green grass and home-cooked meals. Christopher Gagne longs to see his wife, and even to hear the barking dog next door. Jillian Rolla won't miss washing her clothes in a shower stall and line drying them in her cramped tent.

They are among the nearly 300 men and women who left Connecticut more than two months ago to help keep the 25 pilots from the 103rd Fighter Wing in the air. From a classified location in the Middle East, 90 miles from Iraq, they have been working grueling 12-hour shifts, sleeping and eating in small tents.

At home, Gagne is a glass repairman. Rolla is a newlywed and Turner is computer programmer. But for the past few months, their jobs have been to service the seven A-10s, ``tank killers,'' described as the best air-to- ground combat aircraft in the U.S. military.

Mission accomplished, so far with no casualties, and the members of the Connecticut Air National Guard may be coming home soon.

``If I were a betting man, I'd say they'd be home within a month,'' said Col. Russ Thomas, based at Bradley International Airport. ``The definite objective is to get all the reserves home as soon as possible.''

Hulking and gray with a 30- millimeter cannon poking from their noses, the fighter jets are called ``warthogs'' because they are so ugly. But they also fly at treetop level, packed with enough firepower and technology to pinpoint tanks, artillery and enemy troops below and blow them away.

They have provided critical air support to Amercian ground troops in Iraq. The A-10's from Connecticut's Air National Guard were shot at, but none were hit.

Small groups of American or British forces were often outnumbered by much larger forces of Iraqi soldiers. The commander on the ground would call in the A-10s on a special radio frequency, Thomas said, and the pilots ``used precise engaging equipment to identify areas and to strike.''

Mechanics, bomb loaders, and other support crews ``have the toughest jobs, although they don't always get all the glory,'' said Chief Master Sgt. Kris Shaw, stationed at the Air National Guard at Bradley.

``All they do is keep turning those birds around,'' she said. ``They are doing everything, from loading bombs to everyday maintenance.''

With most of Iraq now under American control, and most of Saddam Hussein's army decimated, the 103rd Fighter Wing may be coming home soon. In an exchange of e-mail with The Courant, several members talked about why they were anxious to do so.

For Gagne, 33, coming home means going back to his civilian job at Advanced Performance Glass in South Windsor, and seeing ``my best friend, who also happens to be my wife, Kathie.''

``If Kathie were here then this would be home,'' Gagne said.

In the past few weeks, he has felt bursts of uncertainty and pride, `` a little bit of a roller coaster,'' he said.

For Rolla, 24, an aircraft mechanic, coming home will mean precious time together with her new husband, Charles Foley, 25, who is also deployed with the Connecticut Air National Guard.

The Glastonbury couple were married hastily Feb. 21 when they learned they would be deployed within days. They went back to work five hours after the ceremony.

``Chad and I don't see each other much here. We have five minutes during shift change, as we work opposite schedules. Since we are in uniform, our only contact is a handshake and an occassional note of encouragement,'' Rolla said.

``If we wrote what we missed about home, this would go on forever,'' Rolla said in her e-mail. ``Basically we have learned to appreciate what we have at home, everything down to the evergreen trees on Route 2.''

John E. Stevens, of Rocky Hill, has been overseas for almost three months. He left his family, his job as an air conditioning and heating technician, and the Rocky Hill Volunteer Fire Department, which he said is like his ``second family.''

``You actually don't realize how important things are until you go away for awhile,'' Stevens said.

For Heather Kirkham, 25, of East Hampton, returning means seeing her 3-year-old cousin, and enjoying the comforts of home. This is her second deployment in seven years, her first being in Kuwait after Sept. 11.

``I'm missing my friends and family, especially my 3-year-old cousin, Samantha. I'm missing out on important things in her life, like her first day of pre-school,'' Kirkham said in her e-mail.

She has been afraid, particularly of the unknown, of not knowing what to expect in a war.

``Hearing about the casualties, POW's, and the MIAs was especially hard for those of us deployed. It could be a soldier that you had eaten dinner with the week before,'' Kirkham said.

Kirkham said she has never been more proud to be in the military, and she hopes to come back to a nation that feels the same way.

``The only thing that I hope that the nation does to pay back its veterans is to be proud to be an American,'' she said. ``Stand when the national anthem is played. Show respect to the flag. Remember all of the men and women who have given their lives to show their love for this country.''